Pop Culture Mondays/10.9.23
The “My Heart Hurts” Edition
Well. It’s Monday. I don't know how to begin this week’s PCM; honestly, I didn’t want to write it. I didn’t know if I COULD write it. Maybe it is therapy in a way for me…and an escape for you. I have been doing this for a long time now. I wrote even in the darkest days of COVID. I wrote right after open heart surgery. There have been tough Mondays.
This feels different. This feels like the beginning of the end of the world. And if you are a student of history, well, it really feels like that. But I am sad. I am sad about what has happened in Israel. I am sad about what has happened online and in cities like NY and London, where people are CELEBRATING the attacks and rapes and kidnappings and murders. I am sad to see people tearing each other apart, literally and figuratively. I am sad to see tech people act like geo-political experts and poison the minds of their audiences. I am sad to see many people afraid to take a stand. As my friend Walt Mossberg so eloquently said:
And this post is being shared by many:
So with that, here we are. I am not going to cover Israel beyond this. We have seen all the horrible videos. We have seen the horrible tweets or posts or whatever the fuck we are calling it from people celebrating it. We have seen the TikToks and the ignorance on all sides. Everyone is SO quick to fight with one another, and it breaks me. So, I look for an escape, even if just for a minute. If you aren’t ready for that, I totally understand, my darlings, so just skip this week or save for another day.
But for those who need a break….this is for you.
If you missed my conversation last week with Taylor Lorenz on her book “Extremely Online,” check it here:
And if you want to help Israel…well, there are a lot of ways, but I have chosen to donate to Israel’s National Medical Emergency Service which you can DO HERE.
Ok, let’s do this.
A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT:
We are just going to do a round-up this week because that’s all I can muster tbh. But if you were to ask me on Friday what the lead story this week was going to be…likely, I would have said BED BUGS.
NOUS AVONS UN PROBLEME:
Yep. 12 years of French, and that's basically all I got. It means we have a problem, and I am SURE there is a more local and less formal way to say it, but goddammit, I can conjugate the hell out of a verb, so let me have this one victory. But Paris does indeed have a GRANDE probleme. Right before the kick-off of Paris Fashion Week, reports started coming out that bedbugs had INVADED the city. Hotels. Homes. Trains. Buses. ULTIMATELY?? Airports. Bedbugs get in things. They get in you. If you have bedbugs, you are infested, and you bring those suckers with you. So those things are flying first class all around the world right now, living their best lives in Gucci and Miu Miu and Valentino. And who goes to Fashion Week? Yes, celebs and fashion icons…but also…INFLUENCERS. Influencers who document things on video and hence…we all knew about the bedbug sitch pretty quickly. Apparently, these are MUTANT bedbugs who have morphed their DNA (look, I don’t know anything, I just read this shit) and are now immune to exterminators.
If I got infested with bedbugs, I would boil myself, throw everything I own away, sell my home, and move to another country. I am not joking. So, let’s see how this played out on socials.
Good times. For more on this hot topic, check this out:
RHONDA SANTY LOVES HIS HEELS:
Those TikTok investigators are AT IT again, and it does make me laugh. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been out and about lately in his cowboy boots. But there is SOMETHING strange about them….perhaps the little guy needed a lift?
Love it that The Cut covered it. OBVS.
MIAMI HEAT’S JIMMY BUTLER HAS A NEW LOOK:
And we are all here for it. I love him. His humor is infectious and I could watch his press calls all day long. EMO BABY.
And some reactions…
MY FAVE SHOW:
This is on YouTube too, but the numbers on TikTok are astronomical like 70 plus million views on one video. And I get it. I love it. The premise is this kid interviews people but quietly in a library. But this particular series, Cheap vs Expensive, is particularly good.
This is the brainchild of Canadian YouTuber, Derek Gerard. And I love him.
OLIVIA & LUNDEN:
This MAY have been another lead story if things had gone differently this week. Let me introduce you to newlyweds Olivia and Lunden who took over TikTok the last few weeks. They are a celebrated couple, honestly because they are like girly girls who look the opposite of how SOCIETY has decided gay women look. I mean, let’s just call it like it is. They are like southern belles whose granddaddies probably would not love this scenario, but here we are. I mean, I am generalizing, obviously, but there is no denying it is because they seem like perfect JCREW girls, they fascinated everyone.
Here’s a peek into their lives:
They made many private so we need to go look at others who have their videos:
And my favorite:
OK….but we cannot have a happy ending, can we? So, a mere moments — like MOMENTS - after the wedding, scandal unfolds.
Remember this: There is always a tweet.
So let’s start with the APOLOGY post, which was posted to TikTok as a story meaning it would only be there for a period of time and the community….well, they do NOT like that. If you want to apologize, make a real TikTok or Grid Instagram (if that’s the way you go) vs a story.
So here’s some of that apology:
Yes, yep. Our girl Lunden posted some very racist tweets, and her social media team CLEARLY did not scrape that shit back in the day. So, she’s in hot water? You bet. But then something else happened…
…many reactions were of forgiveness, which was nice to see.
Always a tweet!
For more on this:
ALL ABOUT BECKHAM:
I honestly didn’t think I cared about the Beckhams. I mean, I fully respect what they have done, and they are beautiful, and I remember the scandals — or so I thought — but I was like, what else do I need to know?
I was wrong. Also, was I living under a rock? As a self-described ANGLOPHILE, I missed the boat on this one. I couldn't stop watching the Beckham doc on Netflix…many of you have seen it, I am sure. BUT for those who have not?? YOU MUST.
The viral clip going around is a good one:
I am truly obsessed.
Oh wait….and this…
FINE DINING:
If you have a Gen Z kid, you likely know that these two spots or at least one of them, is like THE BEST EVER. Gen Z LOVES The Cheesecake Factory and Olive Garden. I cannot explain it. I think maybe, in SOME cases, Euro teens think of these as the PEN ULTIMATE American dining because of all the TikToks so they come to the US in search of them, I don’t know. But here’s a look:
The brown bread is the real hit here. They love it. I think it is filled with sugar tbh. ANYWAY, this obsession is not new. This has been going on for some time…but I felt compelled to explain this to you so you understand why you are being asked to drive there.
But don’t forget Italy’s FINEST! The Olive Garden!
SO many Italians are rolling in their graves right now. I apologize.
Teens Love LinkedIn?
Reports all over are saying the kids are loving LinkedIn….Did LinkedIn write these stories? At any rate…LMK what YOU are hearing. These are some of my fave LinkedIn memes though:
AND read more here:
AND LASTLY….
Have you been seeing funny AI-generated pics of your friends that look like Yearbook photos fro the ‘90s? LIKE THESE:
I am OBSESSED. It’s a fun distraction…and the photos are great. And you can have fun with it. ENJOY.
THAT IS IT, my darlings…
I am going to turn the news off for a minute. I am currently in Laguna Niguel (AGAIN), but this time for Fortune’s Most Powerful Women conference, where I am speaking about Gen Z. Basically, I am just going to talk about The Cheesecake Factory. The poor audience!
Please be kind to one another. We can have different views but hopefully, everyone agrees that peace is what everyone wants and deserves. Children should be safe. Everywhere. And to my friends in Israel….I love you.
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Xx,
Brooke
